The Game of Love爱的游戏

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Love is something eternal （永恒的）

―Vincent van Gogh

爱是永恒的――文森特・梵高

Dad brought him home from a fishing trip in the mountains， full of cockleburs and so thin you could count every rib.

“Good gracious，” Mom said. “He’s filthy（肮脏的）！”

“No， he isn’t！ He’s Rusty.” said John， my eight-year-old brother.“Can we keep him？ Please ...Please ... Please.”

“He’s going to be a big dog，” Dad warned， lifting a mud encrusted （硬壳覆盖的） paw （爪子）. “Probably that is why he was abandoned.”

“What kind of dog？” I asked. It was impossible to get close to this smelly creature.

“Mostly German shepherd，” Dad said. “He’s in bad shape， John. He may not make it.”

John was gently picking out cockleburs.

“I’ll take care of Rusty. Honest， I will.”

Mom gave in， as she usually did with John. My little brother had a mild form of hemophilia. Four years earlier， he’d almost bled to death from a routine tonsillectomy. We’d all been careful with him since then.

“All right， John，” Dad said. “We’ll keep Rusty. But he’s your responsibility （责任）.”

“Deal！”

And that’s how Rusty came to live with us. He was John’s dog from that very first moment， though he tolerated （容许） the rest of us.

John kept his word. He fed， watered， medicated and groomed the scruffy-looking animal every day. I think he liked taking care of something rather than being taken care of.

Over the summer， Rusty grew into a big， handsome dog. He and John were constant companions （伴侣）. Wherever John went， Rusty was by his side. When school began， Rusty would walk John the six blocks to elementary school， then came home. Every school day at three o’clock， rain or shine， Rusty would wait for John at the playground.

“There goes Rusty，” the neighbor would say. “Must be close to three. You can set your watch by that dog.”

Telling time wasn’t the only amazing thing about Rusty. Somehow， he sensed that John shouldn’t roughhouse （打闹） like the other boys. He was very protective. When the neighborhood bully taunted （辱骂） my undersized brother， Rusty’s hackles rose， and a deep， menacing growl came from his throat. The heckling ceased after one encounter. And when John and his best friend Bobby wrestled（摔跤）， Rusty monitored their play with a watchful eye. If John were on top， fine. If Bobby got John down， Rusty would lope （轻跳着奔跑） over， grab Bobby’s collar （衣领） and pull him off. Bobby and John thought this game great fun. They staged fights quite often， much to Mother’s dismay.